zrultima

its an automatic 6l80e

WideVette

This is copied from a general discussion re: neutral safety switch (auto).

Maybe someone on here can add more experience specific to the Vette.

"Common signs of a faulty neutral safety switch include the engine not cranking in park or neutral, not cranking at all, or cranking in any gear."

Bruze

OP: What exactly is happening now when you press the start button? Anything light up? Any clicks?

zrultima

You hear one loud click and then the screen blacks out and resets itself back to when u first start up the car. Same symptom when I replaced it the first time I changed out all the relays just in case because i know its a common issue with them

Icecap

I've just read back a couple of pages of this post trying to understand what was done and what was checked. Your comment "You hear one loud click and then the screen blacks out and resets itself back to when u first start up the car" would indicate to me that the loud click you hear is the starter solenoid since the relays in the system would probably be too faint to hear when they open and close.

I would be suspicious of a bad connection either to ground or power from the battery causing a severe voltage drop as soon as a high current draw happens. I'm been a mechanic for decades but I'm a Corvette newbie myself so I'm not familiar with all the grounding points and power points. I have encountered this scenario many times over the years.

mhatton222

Don't want to beat a dead horse but from my research on this forum, 100's of strange electrical issues derive from the battery. I would still replace it just to mark it off the list. Good Luck

Bruze

I agree.

Once you get into the electronics of these modern cars I'm lost, but the basics of electrical circuits has not changed. Bad connections (which it sounds like) always show up under high current draw, like when trying to crank an engine.

Another thing I've learned the hard way, the majority of problems like this are simple and cheap to fix (bad ground, etc). The trick is in diagnosing them properly.

*IF* the battery is good, and
*IF* both battery cables are in good shape and all four terminals are clean and tight, and
*IF* the solenoid is good (did a new one come with the new starter?)

. . . then we can only hope that Ft. Morgan Al chimes in.

zrultima

Well its not the battery I replaced it and will replaced the starter tommorow I have that lifetime warranty for the starter and yes usually starter come with the solenoids as far as i know so as far as I know if this starter works I would not know what to do from there forth

Signal_20

Dumb question but what do you mean live battery?

Also I have an 05 with 4700 miles, how do I find out if the column lock issue was fixed and is to late to have the recall done if not?

Jim - Orlando

FortMorganAl

You and Icecap have it. The loud click is the clue. The starter motor engaged but didn't turn. Since the starter was replaced that should have eliminated a bad starter motor and solenoid and solenoid wiring. We're back to bad battery or battery cables. Icecap indicated cables which is where I would have gone also except OP says cables are good. That leaves battery. Battery being dead after just leaving the hatch open points directly to BATTERY!!! The fact that the issue started suddenly after a stop for gas indicates a loose plate/short in the bottom in the battery. Working for a week and then quitting again indicates something moving inside the battery. I don't care what a shop says about load testing the battery. I would replace it. Your 2 year old battery has been killed multiple times. That battery is now worthless even if it was new a month ago. Autozone Duralast Gold $130.

d.medic

I think he did replace it....

Bruze

You da man, Al!

"It," = battery? LOL, I don't remember at this point. I thought he just replaced the starter . . . ?

d.medic

this

WideVette

Will it start in any gear when it's acting up? Try neutral or even a forward gear and possibly moving/wiggling shifter searching for a connection to a short (neutral safety switch)

zrultima

No I replaced the battery to no avail and it did not want to start yesterday but this morning started right up??????? What is going on

Bruze

" . . . did not want to start . . . " ?

What exactly happened? A loud click like before? Dash lights? Nothing at all?

FortMorganAl

Oops. How did I miss that one because I thought I carefully read every post. OK, how about an executive summary. Exactly what happens when it doesn't start. Loud click every time? Do all the lights go out or just most? Do the gauges sweep? How long do the lights stay off (seconds or 15 seconds)? Does it come back with "Welcome..." or some other message? What parts were replaced/tightened and what was the result of each change? Do you have any aftermarket parts installed? Has the engine been tuned?

From what I think I know at this point, the shop manual has only two possibilities, bad connection to positive terminal of battery and bad ground at battery. OP has said these were checked so more information is needed to determine if the current load of the starter is dropping the voltage or if there is possibly a connector issue in the ECM or BCM computers. Widevette's suggestion is also sure worth a try although that would not give a click and should give a message to put it in Park.

OP, we can figure this out eventually but you have been unlucky enough to get a real puzzler. Most no crank conditions are solved here almost immediately but you've supposedly done all the normal fixes already. Don't get discouraged. Once we figure this out you are going to love this car.

myfunz

Sounds like my old C4. I had this problem heat soak starter turn the key all the dash lights up thats it. I would check connections to the battery and starter. Did you check for codes?

zrultima

No codes but just would like to say there might be a bad connection there is a wire coming from the external transmission cooler that was stripped I went ahead and moved the wiring and suddenly car starts just fine. Everything works on the car except the fuel gauge which I will have to get fixed but I think that cable coming from the external transmission cooler short circuited something causing the car not to start. I am no expert here but it is the strangest thing I ever seen I have driven the car since monday and no issue to speak of. All i did was move that wire wonder if its grounding out but I will replace it this weekend.

FortMorganAl

I'm not sure what you are looking at. There is no factory installed external automatic transmission cooler. The transmission oil is cooled inside the radiator. I know, GM says the Z51 option includes an external transmission cooler but that is only for manual transmissions. Maybe the previous owner added another cooler?

But, yes, a shorted wire could do strange things since much of the power for sensors and such is developed inside the ECM and BCM computers. This isn't a '53 Buick where everything is either 12VDC or ground. Shorting say one of the 5VDC sensor power supplies could do strange things.